$16K Raised For Hunger-Relief Efforts At CROP Hunger Walk In Burke

BURKE, VA — The 31st Annual 3.6-Mile CROP Hunger Walk, held on Sunday in Burke, raised about $17,000 for hunger-relief efforts local and internationally.

Club Pilates Burke, a Gold Sponsor of the walk, and 20 church and synagogue teams donated food and raised the $17,000 for this year’s event. Additional donations will bring the total raised to about $25,000.

Since 1993, the Burke/Fairfax CROP Hunger Walk has raised $649,000. A large portion of the funds will stay in the local area to benefit the nonprofit Ecumenical Community Helping Others, or ECHO, and Western Fairfax Christian Ministries.

The rest of the funds will go overseas to help developing countries get access to proper nutrition and build infrastructure for sanitized water.

“I’ve supported this walk for three years now because I’m passionate about health, fitness and living well, but you can’t achieve those goals when you don’t have access to safe water or are struggling for food,” Club Pilates Burke owner Julie Karickhoff said in a statement. “I was shocked to learn that in the one in nine people worldwide lack access to clean water and a healthy diet.”

The exact distance of 3.6 miles was chosen for the walk because that is the average distance women and girls have to walk in Africa and Asia just to get water, with many of them carrying 44 pounds back. The CROP Hunger walkers “walked in their shoes,” experiencing their struggle, Karickhoff said.

The walk started at the Burke Presbyterian Church, just off Burke Centre Parkway. After the walk, the 200 walkers came into the church for live music, home-made snacks, and $1,000 worth of raffle giveaways from local merchants, including Spartans Family Restaurants, Auld Sheebeen Irish Pub and Massage Envy.

Walkers could also register for complimentary intro classes at Club Pilates Burke.

ECHO is still in need of more food donations as well as hygiene donations such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, band-aids, shampoo and other items for families in need.

From combating droughts in Nicaragua to providing agricultural training in Indonesia to stocking shelves in hundreds of food pantries across the United States, CROP Hunger Walks have been fighting hunger since their start in 1969.

The walks have grown to include walkers of all ages, faiths and backgrounds in more than 500 communities throughout the U.S. In 2022, all walks nationwide raised $6 million total.